Arkansas Blog

Groundbreaking today for solar energy project in Stuttgart

SOLAR PANELS: Thousands of photovoltaic solar panels like this one at a plant in Alabama will be used to generate electricity in Stuttgart.

Ground was broken today in Stuttgart on a solar energy generating installation.

The Stuttgart Solar Energy Center will use free sunshine to produce electricity from solar panels. It's a project of NextEra Energy Resources and Entergy Arkansas.

The project, according to a news release, will cover 475 acres seven miles southeast of Stuttgart. Construction will take nine months. The center will be able to generate 81 megawatts of electricity for Entergy, which has a 20-year agreement to purchase the power from an affiliate of NextEra.

The center will provide emission-free renewable energy, Entergy noted in a news release. (Note Attorney General Leslie Rutledge: Pumping pollution into the air isn't the only way to make electricity.)

About 250 jobs will be needed to build the plant. The plant investment will produce property tax revenue for Arkansas County, an estimated $8 million over 20 years, the bulk going to schools.